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THE TECH SAVY DESERT RAT

Feb 15, 2022Featured, News

“Give a man an iPad and you amuse him for a day. Teach a man to use an iPad and you give him work for a lifetime” – ancient DCQ proverb.
DCQ Field Supervisor, Peter Spence, is one of those blokes who decided to keep up with the ‘modern technology’.
 
Spending most of his life in the Desert Uplands, north of Muttaburra, it’s only in the last ten years that Pete has really had the opportunity to cover the whole of the region as part of the DCQ team.
 
He, like all our staff, possesses a broad set of skills that is combined with practical science and applied across a range of projects.
 

Team out, data in

Pete’s time is spent liaising with our landholders and coordinating the work of the field team but also, crucially, he is part of the team of people who measure the outcome of the projects we do, which provides the learnings we apply.
 
iPads are not just toys for us. They’ve become critical tools in recording our data and helping us to refine our mapping.
 
Now that this region has received some rain, landholders are reporting that their native pasture is finally poking its head up.
 
As the creeks subside and property roads are graded, DCQ staff are heading out to key sites to measure the recovery, learn from our research and development work, and look for emergent weeds.
 
As Peter and the team are out, data from our work sites is coming in as we help you invest in the natural resources of the Desert Channels region.
field officer on iPad

Camels prefer Prickly Acacia – but what’s the overall trend?

A preview of camel monitoring trials to control Prickly Acacia.

More funding to cap and pipe bores announced for Queensland

Up to 90% of your estimated eligible project costs could be covered. 

CITIZEN SCIENCE A WRAP

This project aims to build community understanding for our local environment and to spark an interest in science.

How poly-pipe squares help assess land ‘bio-condition’ over time

A square plays a important role in capturing changes in NRM condition for several projects in the DCQ region.

Night parrot listed as ‘critically endangered’ as monitoring underway

An elusive, rare parrot in the Desert Channels region that was once thought to be extinct.

Free water quality testing of bores, springs in Western Queensland

Over the next 12 months, DCQ can test your bore or spring water quality at no cost.

Photos: Fast-moving bushfires a ‘real possibility’ in Western Qld this season

The Qld Rural Fire Service is concerned fires will be more dangerous than usual.

More funding to cap and pipe bores announced for Queensland

Up to 90% of your estimated eligible project costs could be covered. 

E-BEEF SMART FARM

A three-year project supporting primary-producers with technology to assist with timely and informed management decisions.

Springs

Lying beneath parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales, the Great Artesian Basin, (GAB) is Australia’s largest groundwater basin and one of the largest underground freshwater resources in the world.

Invasive Cactus

Cactus weeds have become more aggressive in our region due to climate shifts, drought and rainfall variability.

LANDCARE

Funded through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, the SAF is a trusted partner providing critical advice and extension services

Watertight

The Queensland Government has established the WaterTight program to be carried out by the Natural Resource Management groups

IS DIESEL BECOMING A THING OF THE PAST?

The increased cost of diesel, along with its health and environmental issues, has opened the door for a new kind of herbicide.

SUCCESS IN THE MAKING

With the summer rain, plants are now leaping out of the ground.

THORNVILLE QUANDARY

When pastures don’t return as expected.

SEEDY BUSINESS

Sometimes, even mother nature needs a hand. Having perfected Prickly Acacia control, we have begun seeding work to “turbo charge” pasture recovery.